I forgot what I wanted to say......
3 minutes later: Oh yeh, bard about your post! You hit it on the nail. check out this stikel from my sefer:
shemirateinayim wrote on 11 Jan 2010 16:26:
R shimshun pinkus brings from the zohar. That in the Ikvasah Dimeshicha (the final period b4 mashiach) the world will be a "vaad Liznus".
cool, no? If only it had some more meaning. The translation of Vaad, is an 'asifas chchamim' an gathering of men of intellect, for the furthering of intellectual pursuits. Yes, i know that this makes a humorous defenition, but give me a second to show you the truth in it.
In our current day and age, the advancements in technology are so fast paced, that few things are thought of as impossible. It is merely a matter of time until someone writes the software, or increases the efficiency of existent hardware. There still remains a vibrant industry in technologies outside of the entertainment center, primarily focused on improving productivity. But the single greatest feild of scientific advancement is entertainment. TV VIDEO, INTERNET, ELECTRONICS you name it. And people are so caught-up in the pursuit of these, that everyone takes issue with the "uselessness" of NASA. Are we crazy, the great advances that they have achieved in the study of astrology dwarfs anythinng that secular science has ever known. The advent of telescopes, the hubble included, shame our previous way that we have related to them as mere "constellations". today we can see their colors hues shapes and movements. and in vivid color!
Yet despite all this, many people see these studies as a waste of money. The reason behind this, is that we DON'T CARE about a Vaad for sciences, since all we desire is a VAAD LEZNUS. We want to see our greatest minds and talent give us a reason to laugh and smile, and feel the thrill of znus. Whether it be in dirty jokes, vivid videos of celebs or merely watching actors portray their "bedside manners". We see this as the single greatest goal that science can attribute to.
This is the mindset of our generation, as delineated in the ZOHAR in the time of R Shimon Bar Yochai.